Even when you’re extremely busy, you aren’t using your time with 100% efficiency. There are gaps in everyone’s schedule where they aren’t doing anything important. Even if your schedule has no gaps, there is probably lots of time when you aren’t working as fast or as effectively as you possibly could.
Why aren’t you completely efficient? It’s because time isn’t the limiting factor. If it were the limiting factor, people could work non-stop without breaks or any unproductive distractions (消遣). Instead, people, even those who are highly productive, need to take breaks, occasionally procrastinate (拖延) and slow down on tasks throughout the day.
The real and most important limiting factor for productivity is your energy levels to pay attention. Energy levels limit your productivity because when you’re tired, you can have enough time and still not get everything done. Your attention ability is also limited, because even if there are a million things that need to be done, you can only focus on one or two at a time.
You might not be able to insert another 4-5 hours into your schedule without making some sacrifices（牺牲）. But even extremely busy people can add an hour or two into their schedule without cancelling anything. The reason why it’s hard to “find time” isn’t a lack of time. It’s because you don’t have enough energy left to focus on something else that needs to fit into your day.
I first suspected time wasn’t the real problem during an extremely busy period in my life over a year ago. I was extremely busy, but at that time I still exercised regularly. I had daily to-do lists with over twenty items, and I still found time to exercise. However, after a few weeks off, because of illness, I stopped exercising. I was not busy by any standards, in fact, my schedule was very light. Despite this free time, I found it hard to find time to exercise. It seemed to get pushed later and later into my schedule until it was gone. How can I explain this strange experience? I believe you have known it. If someone can’t work with 100% efficiency, the most important limiting factor is ________.
| A．a schedule without gaps |
| B．breaks and distractions |
| C．the limited time |
| D．the limited energy |
According to Paragraph 4, everyone, including the extremely busy people, can ________.
| A．work without any rest |
| B．focus on many things at a time |
| C．find some more time in a day |
| D．do some exercise regularly |
The writer gives the example of himself in the last paragraph in order to ________.
| A．prove what the real limiting factor is |
| B．show us how busily he needs to work |
| C．explain how important a healthy body is |
| D．tell us what a strange experience he has |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Do You Really Lack Time? |
| B．How Can You Work Efficiently? |
| C．What Makes Your Energy Limited? |
| D．When Should You Do Exercise? |
Photos that you might have found down the back of your sofa are now big business!
In 2005, the American artist Richard Prince’s photograph of a photograph, Untitled (Cowboy）, was sold for $ 1, 248, 000.
Prince is certainly not the only contemporary artist to have worked with so-called “found photographs”—a loose term given to everything from discarded(丢弃的） prints discovered in a junk shop to old advertisements or amateur photographs from a stranger’s family album. The German artist Joachim Schmid, who believes “basically everything is worth looking at”, has gathered discarded photographs, postcards and newspaper images since 1982. In his on-going project, Archiv, he groups photographs of family life according to themes: people with dogs; teams; new cars; dinner with the family; and so on.
Like Schmid, the editors of several self-published art magazines also champion (捍卫) found photographs. One of them, called simply Found, was born one snowy night in Chicago, when Davy Rothbard returned to his car to find under his wiper(雨刷） an angry note intended for some else: “Why’s your car HERE at HER place?” The note became the starting point for Rothbard’s addictive publication, which features found photographs sent in by readers, such a poster discovered in our drawer.
The whole found-photograph phenomenon has raised some questions. Perhaps one of the most difficult is: can these images really be considered as art? And if so, whose art? Yet found photographs produced by artists, such Richard Prince, may riding his horse hurriedly to meet someone? Or how did Prince create this photograph? It's anyone's guess. In addition, as we imagine the back-story to the people in the found photographs artists, like Schmid, have collated (整理）, we also turn toward our own photographic albums. Why is memory so important to us? Why do we all seek to freeze in time the faces of our children, our parents, our lovers, and ourselves? Will they mean anything to anyone after we've gone?
In the absence of established facts, the vast collections of found photographs give our minds an opportunity to wander freely. That, above all, is why they are so fascinating.The first paragraph of the passage is used to _________.
| A．remind readers of found photographs |
| B．advise reader to start a new kind of business |
| C．ask readers to find photographs behind sofa |
| D．show readers the value of found photographs |
According to the passage, Joachim Schmid _________.
| A．is fond of collecting family life photographs |
| B．found a complaining not under his car wiper |
| C．is working for several self-published magazines |
| D．wondered at the artistic nature of found photographs |
The underlined word "them" in Para 4 refers to __________.
| A．the readers | B．the editors |
| C．the found photographs | D．the self-published magazines |
By asking a series of questions in Para 5, the author mainly intends to indicate that ________.
| A．memory of the past is very important to people |
| B．found photographs allow people to think freely |
| C．the back-story of found photographs is puzzling |
| D．the real value of found photographs is questionable |
The author’s attitude towards found photographs can be described as _________.
| A．critical | B．doubtful | C．optimistic | D．satisfied |
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied（依赖）on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit（追求）of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “ I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解） can we discover a new meaning in competition.What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Competition helps to set up self-respect. |
| B．Opinions about competition are different among people. |
| C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development. |
| D．Failures are necessary experience in competition. |
Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
| A．It pushes society forward. |
| B．It builds up a sense of duty. |
| C．It improves personal abilities. |
| D．It encourages individual efforts. |
The underlined phrase "the most vocal" in Paragraph 3 means __________.
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who value competition most highly |
| C．those who are against competition most strongly |
| D．those who rely on others most for success |
What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a "desire to fail"?
| A．One's worth lies in his performance compared with others. |
| B．One's success in competition needs great efforts. |
| C．One's achievement is determined by his particular skills. |
| D．One's success is based on how hard he has tried. |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back. |
| B．Competition should be encouraged. |
| C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter. |
| D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition. |
Cancer researchers urged people on Wednesday to take more vitamin D to lower risk of cancer, saying studies showed a clear link. “Our suggestion is for people to increase their intake (吸入，摄入), through diet or a vitamin supplement,” Dr. Cedric Garland said in a telephone interview.
Garland's research team reviewed 63 studies, including several large long-term ones, on the relationship between vitamin D and certain types of cancer worldwide between 1966 and 2004. “There's nothing that has this ability to prevent cancer,” he said, urging governments and public health officials to do more to fortify (增强) foods with vitamin D. Garland is part of a University of California at San Diego Moores Cancer Center team that published its findings this week online in the American Journal of Public Health. Vitamin D is found in milk, as well as in some fortified orange juice, yogurt and cheeses, usually at around 100 international units（IU）a serving. “People might want to consider a vitamin supplement to raise their intake to 1000 IUs per day” Garland said, adding that it was well within the safety guidelines established by the National Academy of Sciences.
The authors said that taking more vitamin D could be especially important for people living in northern areas, which receive less vitamin D from sunshine.
“African Americans, who don't produce as much of the vitamin because of their skin colour, could also benefit significantly from a higher intake,” the authors said.According to the passage, people are advised to take more Vitamin D, because__.
| A．it is nutritious | B．it can‘t harm people’s health |
| C．it can lower cancer risk | D．it is not taken enough every day |
Which of the following can not help people get more Vitamin D?
| A．Have some sunshine | B．Have more meat |
| C．Have more fortified cheese | D．Have a vitamin supplement |
Which of the following food can lower people‘s chance of getting cancer?
| A．Milk | B．Fortified orange juice | C．Fortified yogurt | D．All of the above |
The most important holiday in spring, especially for Christians, is Easter. This Christian holiday is not on the same date every year，but it’s always on a Sunday. It can be any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Many people celebrate Easter by buying new clothes. Children celebrate by hunting for colored eggs that their parents have hidden around the house. People also give Easter baskets filled with candy and other goodies to one another to celebrate the day.
But the holiday is more than new clothes and good things to eat. On Easter, many people go to church to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection（复活）from the dead. Most people color Ester eggs. Some people hide them. Others just eat them. But no matter what one does with Easter eggs，they are an important Easter tradition throughout the Western world. People from many different cultures celebrate Easter. In both America and Belgium, children look for Easter eggs hidden on lawns and in bushes. In America, children believe the eggs are hidden by the Easter bunny (兔子).But in Belgium, the hidden eggs are supposed to have fallen from church bells. In Bulgaria (保加利亚), red Easter eggs are lucky in churches. Bulgarian families also hit these Easter eggs together to see whose is the strongest. The winner looks forward to good fortune that year. Still dozens of other Easter traditions exist. In parts of Austria，for example，children sing from door to door and are rewarded with colorful eggs.Easter comes _______.
| A．on the same date every year | B．on Sunday on March 22 |
| C．on Sunday on April 25 | D．on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25 |
To celebrate Easter, people ___________.
| A．go shopping, hide colored eggs and children hunt for them |
| B．give Easter baskets filled candy and goodies to one another |
| C．buy new clothes, hide colored eggs and children look for them around the house |
| D．both B and C |
For Christians the more important thing to do on Easter is________.
| A．going to church to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection | B．buying new clothes |
| C．eating delicious food and paint color eggs | D．exchange beautiful gifts each other |
In some places of Austria, children sing from door to door for_______.
| A．blesses | B．Easter eggs | C．candy and goodies | D．Easter bunny |
Discover
Newsmagazine of science devoted to the wonders an stories of modern science, written for the educated general reader. Published(出版) by Disney Magazine Publishing Co., Discover tells many of the same stories professionals(专业人员) read in Scientific American. A truly delightful family science magazine, each issue(每期) brings to light new and newsworthy topics to make dinnertime and water-cooler conversations interesting.
Cover Price: $59.88
Price: $19.95($1.66/issue)
You Save: $39.93(67%)
Issues: 12 issues/12 months
Self
Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc., Self is a handbook devoted to women’s overall physical and mental health. Every issue contains usable articles such as “Style Lab”, in which wearable clothes are mixed and matched on non-models and the “Eat-right Road Map”, with tips on how to eat properly.
Cover Price: $35.86
Price: $15．00($2.5/issue)
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Issues: 10 issues/12 months
Instyle
Instyle is a guide to the lives and lifestyles of the world’s famous people. The magazine covers the choices people make about their homes, their clothes and their free time activities. With photos and articles, it opens the door to these people’s homes, families, parties and weddings, offering ideas about beauty, fitness and in general, lifestyles. Publisher: The Time Inc．Magazine Company.
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Wired
This magazine is designed for leaders in the field of information engineering including top managers and professionals in the computer, business, design and education industries. Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc., Wired often carries articles on how technology changes people’s lives.
Cover Price: $59.40
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Issues: 10 issues/12monthsWhich of the following magazines is published monthly?
| A．Discover | B．Self | C．Instyle | D．Wired |
Which two magazines are published by the same publisher?
| A．Wired and Instyle | B．Discover and Instyle |
| C．Self and Discover | D．Self and Wired |
Which magazine offers the biggest price cut?
| A．Instyle | B．Wired | C．Discover | D．Self |